An important lesson I've learned over the past year is that being true to myself and my process is what makes me able to offer a unique product.

I know it's so simple, but if you just be yourself, you're different than anyone else. -Tony Bennett

I have always been a little different, and I have never had the self-awareness to know what was or wasn't socially acceptable. As I've gotten older, I've started to notice the ways I'm different and embrace them. Because now that my kids are getting older, I have noticed what makes them unique too. And I celebrate those differences fully.

"Nobody Does it Like Me" by Dame Shirley Bassey is an ode to self-realization, self-deprecation, and self-acceptance. And while I feel like it echoes some (many) of my (our?) inner monologues, it's also so honest and sweet and empowering, that I can't get enough. 

If there's a wrong way to do it
A wrong way to play it
Nobody does it like me
If there's a wrong way to do it
A right way to screw it up
Nobody does it like me
I've got a big loud mouth
I'm always talking much to free
If you go for tact and manners
Better stay away from me
If there's a wrong way to keep it cool
A right way to be a fool
Nobody does it like me

Goldie Hawn did an amazing performance of the song in 1978, if you want to enjoy this a step further. 

I love when people are real, and their reactions are genuine and honest, and their heart is in the right place. Seeing peoples eyes well up when they're excited, or being honest about how hard raising kids can be, it speaks to me. I feel like I am very lucky to have a healthy handful of kindred spirits in this world, and I've noticed over the years that all of those friends are people that are honest, warm, and wear their hearts on their sleeves.

There is a Japanese art of repairing broken pottery called Kintsugi. The art form embraces the flaws, fills them with powdered gold (or silver, or platinum), and highlights the cracks. As a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.

My flaws lead to work that is special and unique. I can't sit still for too long, I need to constantly be inspired, I need to work in bursts, and I would rather walk into neighborhood shops than ever go to the gym. 

Our history of mistakes may not be visible, but the cracks in us are what makes us who we are. And being real about those flaws makes us relatable and resilient. So, I raise my glass to all of us—we are human, we have flaws, and we are beautiful. In business, family, and all on my own, I will continue to strive to be, unequivocally, me.